Liberal activist Park Won-soon won the Seoul mayoral race Wednesday on the back of a revolt by young voters against the governing party. The silent revolution would shake the current status quo in the political landscape. For the first time since the Joseon Dynasty in 1392, an independent candidate has become mayor of Seoul.
His victory is a humiliation and embarrassment for the Lee Myung-bak administration and his ruling Grand National Party. The defeat is also a warning to the GNP’s undisputable leading presidential candidate Park Geun-hye.
Ahn Cheol-soo, the dean of the Seoul National University Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, could be the biggest winner in the by-election.
Now few cannot discount his popularity. The software mogul’s last-minute appeal proved to be crucial in Park’s victory. Polls show that Ahn would beat Park Geun-hye in an imagined presidential election. But Ahn has yet to declare any political ambitions.
Park Won-soon’s victory is also bitter-sweet for the opposition Democratic Party although it supported him in the race. The DP’s candidate Park Young-sun lost to the lawyer-turned-civic activist Park Won-soon in the preliminary race for a unified opposition candidate.
The first opposition party may have no choice but to recruit as many fresh figures as possible for the National Assembly and the presidential elections scheduled next year.
Wednesday’s election has sent a clear warning to both the governing and opposition parties of the Establishment. Park’s victory will strengthen the voice of civic society, namely nongovernmental organizations.
To be noted is the fact that the race was not a neck-and-neck one as pollsters had predicted. In the smartphone age, polling has become a tough job. Many voters, especially supporters of the opposition liberal candidate, hide their favorite candidate in polls.
The metropolitan area of 10 million citizens was divided into two districts, with Na winning in the wealthy region. The liberal candidate Park won in the less affluent area in Seoul.
The majority of people in their 20s, 30s and 40s stood behind Park. Na found solace from the support of voters in their 50s and 60s.
In fact, the by-election was a showdown between “Digital Natives,” namely young people comfortable in using new media technology, including Twitter and Facebook, and Digital “Immigrants,” namely those in the 50s and 60s who are struggling in using them.
The election was regarded as a crucial bellwether of voter sentiment ahead of the two crucial elections next year. Seoulites account for 25 percent of total votes in the country. Korea awaits a political earthquake.